Antiseptic device and method of making same



A ril '27, 1937.

F. A. HOYLAND I ANTISEPTIC DEVICE AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME Filed March23, 1935 Patented Apr. 27, 1937 UNITED STATES ANTISEPTIO DEVICE ANDMETHOD or MAKIN E GSAM Fred A. Hoy land, Washington, D. 0.-

Application March 23, 1935, Serial No. 12,691

'1- Claims.

My'invention relates to new and useful improvements in antisepticdevices and methods of making same, and more particularly toimprovements in antiseptic telephone transmitter mouthpiece guards andthe methods of making the antiseptic elements thereof.

Although many authorities are of the opinion that various diseases maybe communicated due to the lodgement of germs in the conventionaltelephone mouthpiece no convenient and effective steps have been takenheretofore to remedy the situation. The construction of telephonemouthpieces is'such as to be not readily accessible for necessaryadequate frequent cleansing, and

various known guards are so constructed as to be either too clumsy forconvenient use or are ineffective to prevent germs from reaching and"remaining in the mouthpiece. Some guards developed in the past have beenobjectionable in that they have been so constructed as to muffle thevoice tones and impair the telephonic properties of the instruments towhich they have been or fibrous nature and impregnated with a lasting.

germicide. When my device is in operative position it is disposed overthe entrance to or mouthpiece of the transmitter and, without impairingthe tonal quality of the instrument, prevents the accumulation ofdisease germs in men the transmitter and immediately destroys such germsso as to effectively prevent the possible spread of disease.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a device of thecharacter mentioned which is simple in construction, inexpensive ofproduction and which will effectively obtain the purposes for which itis designed.

My invention is clearly and fully described hereinafter; and thestructure thereof is illustrated in detail in the accompanying drawing,to be considered as a part of this specification and wherein Figure 1 isa vertical sectional view of one form of antiseptic device embodying myinvention, as applied to a standard upright telephone transmitter;Figure 2 is a front elevational view of the device shown in Figure 1,partly in section to show means for mounting a baille element thereof;Figure 3 is a rear elevational view of the device shown in Figures 1 and2 and Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view of another form of my deviceapplicable to the arm of a standard French-type telephone, thetransmitter of which is shown partly in section for clarity.

Referring to the drawing, in which identical reference numerals indicatesimilar parts in the several views, and referring initially to Figures1, 2 and 3, there is shown fragmentarily a standard or upright ll of aconventional telephone, to which is pivotally secured a transmitter 12.A threaded hard-rubber bell-shaped mouth-piece i3 is screwed into thetransmitter casing'concentrically thereof, and clasped detachably uponthe mouth piece and, preferably concentrically thereof, is a guard l4comprising one form of my antiseptic device.

The guard M consists of a circular disc IB of thin metal such as iron,tin orbrass, or other rigid sheet material corresponding in diameterwith the extreme-diameter of the mouth piece I3 A pair of oppositelydisposed arms or straps l'|ll of the same material fast to the disc I6extend rearwardly therefrom a distance of approximately one-half of thedepth of the mouth piece |3.' The straps l'!-|T are curved concavely tofollow the contour of the mouthpiecel3 and at their rearward extremitiesare riveted or otherwise suitably secured to a band l8 of similarmaterial, which is shaped to lie flat upon the periphery of themouthpiece. For fastening around the mouth piece the band is provided atone end with an aperture l9 and at the other with a-tongue portion 2i.The guard M is firmly attached to 'the mouthpiece by passing the end ofthe tongue 2| through the aperture l9 and bendingit back upon itself asshown in Figs. 1 and 3. shown in Figure 1, will be snugly held as acover for the mouth piece l3, its periphery closely engaging that of themouthpiece through its entire extent in order to effectually seal thesame against the germs which would otherwise be conveyed thereinto bythe breath or hands of the telephone user.

The disc I6 is covered by a correspondingly" When thus assembled thedisc l6, as

In order to insure transmittal of full voiced tones through the guard I4, the discs 16 and 22 are formed axially with aligned apertures 23which are preferably close to and in alignment with the transmitterdiaphragm and magnet of the telephone. Preferably the apertures 23 areabout one-sixth of the diameter of the discs 16 and 22 in extent, sothat ample provision exists for the full voice tones to passtherethrough while a large proportion of the user's breath is directedupon the surface of the disinfectant disc 22, where the germ contentthereof is immediately destroyed.

In order to destroy all the germs of the breath, a bafile arrangement isprovided which includes an auxiliary antiseptic disc 24 located so as toback up the perforated disc 22. It will be noted that the auxiliary disc24 is not perforated, but is cemented upon the surface of an imperforatesheet metal plate 26. Both the disc 24 and the plate 26 are preferablyof the same materials as the disc 22 and the plate l6 respectively, andare approximately one-third the diameters thereof. The plate 26 isatached to the plate l6, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 by opposite arms21-21 extending at right angles from the plate 26 and through suitablesmall apertures in the plate l6 to be bent and secured upon the facethereof beneath the impregnated disc 22. The disc 24 is about threetimes the diameter of the aperture 23 and preferably is arranged withrespect to the transmitter and the disc 22 as shown in Figure 1, whereinit will be noted that the disc 24 extends radially beyond the axis ofthe aperture 23 to insure that all germs passing therethrough will bereceived upon the germicidal surface of the disc 24. This desideratum isreadily obtained with the disclosed relation of aperture 23 to the disc24 because the fit of the disc l6 upon the periphery of the mouth piecerim is tight and the formation of air currents within the mouthpieceissuccessfully inhibited. While it has been found that the bafllearrangement of discs 22 and 24 interrupt the perpendicular tonal columnto successfully capture and destroy all germs of the breath, it isaccom-- plished without distorting or mufliing the voice or in any wayimpairing the telephonic properties of the conventional instrument.

The material forming the discs 22 and 24 is rendered germicidalpreferably by impregnating it to saturation with a hot mixture of anantiseptic ingredient with oil. By experiment it has been found thatsatisfactory results may be obtained by mixing bi-chloride of mercuryand heated ammoniated mercury. The bi-chloride of mercury is powderedand mixed with the ammoniated mercury in the approximate ratio of sevenand one-half grains powdered bi-chloride of mercury to one teaspoonfulof ammoniated mercury. It has also been found that other germicides suchas mercury crystals may be substituted quantitatively for thebi-chloride of mercury in the mix ture, and any non-decomposable oilsuch as petroleum-jelly, lard or lanolin may be used in lieu of or incombination with the active germicidal ingredient. Where such materialsare substituted for the ammoniated mercury, a larger proportion of theactive germicidal agent should be used, in order to compensate for theloss of germicidal effect due to the elimination of ammoniated mercury.

After saturating the felt or other material, and then allowing the sameto cool the impregnated felt will be found to be practically in a drystate, and it has been found that there is no tendency to present anobjecticnally oily surface. While the surface of the discs 22 and 24will retain and immediately destroy all germs contacting therewith,thereby remaining sterile at all times, the oil vehicle acts as a bondfor the disinfectant and renders it impossible for the user to beinjured by the disinfectant should be accidentally or unthinkingly touchthe discs 22 and 24. The oil, furthermore, aids in matting the materialof the discs thereby adding life to the fabric and the disinfectant byimpeding any tendency to dry out.

The construction shown in Figure 4 shows my invention as applied to thelatest standard French-type telephone. A guard 28 is shown which isidentical with that described above. The different shape of theFrench-type transmitter renders it necessary to mount the guard thereonby forming oppositely disposed spring arms' 29-29 to the curvature ofthe mouth piece 3| of the transmitter 32. The guard 28 is detachablyheld snugly over the mouth piece 3| by bending the ends of the arms29-29 inwardly at 33-33 to clasp around the conventional flange 34 ofthe mouth piece.

Guards constructed in the above described manner have been found to bethoroughly eflicacious without measurable deterioration upon test afterlong periods of use. The construction is readily adaptable to be coloredto correspond with any color scheme for the instrument or itsenvironment.

It is essential in carrying out the described process that the vehicleemployed be an oil which is normally solid at room temperature. Whenoils fluid at room temperature are employed it has been found that thesurfaces of the discs 22 and 24 are too greasy, and besides beingunpleasant from esthetic stand points involve the risk of soilingsurfaces brought in contact therewith. However use of an oil liquid atroom temperature does not impair the antiseptic properties vof thedisclosed device.

The process and construction described is inexpensive and susceptible ofbeing employed in large scale production whereby a selling price may bearrived at which will enable widespread use in connection withtelephones especially.

While I have herein shown and described my invention as applied to twofamiliar types of telephone instruments and specific construction forits adaptation thereto and specific materials for its preparation, Iwish it to be understood that I do not limit or confine myself to theprecise details herein described, as modification and variation may bemade within the scope of the claims without departing from the spirit ofthe invention.

What I claim is:

1. Antiseptic device for mouth pieces including a foreward perforatedgermicidal body, an alined rearward imperforate germicidal bodyconnected thereto and a means for attaching the bodies to the mouthpiece.

2. Antiseptic device for telephonic mouthpieces and the like including agermicidal body having an aperture therein, a substantially imperforategermicidal body in spaced relation therewith and means for attaching thebodies to the mouthpiece.

3. An antiseptic shield for telephonic mouthpieces and the likeincluding 'a disc having an aperture therein, a substantiallyimperforate disc in spaced relation therewith and a germicidal elementon the imperforate disc.

4. An antiseptic shield for ilephonic mouth- 6. A guard for telephonemouthpieces and the like including a forward perforated bodysubstantially in continuous engagement with the periphery of themouthpiece, an alined rearward imperforate body connected thereto, andmeans for attaching the bodies to the mouthpiece.

7. A guard for telephone mouthpieces and the like including a dischaving an aperture, asubstantially imperforate disc in spaced parallelrelation therewith and disposed substantially concentric with saidaperture, and means for attaching the guard to the mouthpiecesubstantially 10 concentrically thereof.

FRED A. HOYLAND.

